Carolina Panthers veteran quarterback Andy Dalton will start Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills whether Bryce Young is active or not, ESPN reported Friday.
Carolina listed Young as questionable Friday because of a sprained right ankle that kept him out of practice all week. Panthers coach Dave Canales did not rule Young out of the game, but ESPN cited a team spokesperson as saying Dalton would start regardless of Young’s availability.
Young was injured during last Sunday’s 13-6 win over the New York Jets and left the game in the third quarter.
“He’s made progress every day and we just want to keep our options open for now,” Canales said Friday. “I didn’t want to rule it out, I just wanted to say, ‘OK, you woke up today, it was better than yesterday, so tomorrow we’ll move.’ We rested pretty well today. We’ve had two good days of work on this ankle, so we’ll come back to it tomorrow, and then we’ll make the best decision from there. »
Dalton is in his third season with Carolina and will be making his seventh career start for the team. He was 1-5 in the top six.
“Every opportunity I have to be out there, I’m going to take advantage of every moment,” Dalton said earlier this week. “You never know how many you’re going to get.
“Obviously you hate that Bryce got hurt, but I get to be there and be a part of it and impact the game, so any time you get an opportunity, you look forward to it.”
Dalton, who turns 38 on Wednesday, has played in three games this season. He completed 9 of 13 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, including 4 of 7 attempts for 60 yards after relieving Young against the Jets.
The 15-year veteran was chosen to the Pro Bowl three times during his nine seasons (2011-19) with the Cincinnati Bengals before bouncing around the league. He totaled 39,618 passing yards, 254 touchdowns and 150 interceptions in 178 games (168 starts).
Young, 24, has 1,288 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games this season, his third in the NFL. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.
–Field level media
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